Alberta awards $200 prize to essay that says sexes are not equal, women should pick babies over careers

[BeaverFever]

Just in case anyone thought that Handmaid’s Tale-style misogyny and racism were only a feature of American conservatives, the Alberta  UCP wants you to know we can have it in Canada too. They awarded an essay encouraging women to stay at home and have babies and actually giving those who do medals - MEDALS!  
 

But of course they’re refusing to admit it publicly or provide details on how this could have happened:

 

The Her Vision Inspires contest invited women aged 17 to 25 to submit essays in February describing their ideas for the province and what they would do if they were a member of the legislative assembly.

It awarded third prize to an essay that references a far-right white-nationalist theory that white populations with low birth rates are being replaced by non-white immigrants through mass migration.…Silver’s entry argued women are “not exactly” equal to men, and the idea that they should try to break into careers traditionally dominated by men is “misguided” and “harmful.”

 

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/prize-winning-sexist-racist-essay-should-not-have-been-chosen-alberta-associate-minister/wcm/27151dbb-8c5d-4a21-bdcc-a5ee9b93eaa9/amp/

[TreeBeard]

The judges of the contest were a group of UCP MLAs. 

[Nationalist]

So let me get this straight. 

A girl sent in a well formed award winning essay about the virtues of being a mother...and your upset.

Huh...

[Michael Hardner]

1 minute ago, Nationalist said:

  your

You're.

-1 point for spelling....

[Nationalist]

14 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

You're.

-1 point for spelling....

Lol...small people are so funny.

[Zeitgeist]

All that matters in a persuasive writing contest is how persuasive the writing is, whether or not you agree with the thesis.  A great exercise is to argue an opinion with which you disagree.  I had to do that in a debating society.  

[Aristides]

11 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

All that matters in a persuasive writing contest is how persuasive the writing is, whether or not you agree with the thesis.  A great exercise is to argue an opinion with which you disagree.  I had to do that in a debating society.  

I see no mention that contestants were asked to argue an opinion contrary to what they hold themselves. There is every reason to think she believes what she wrote. She has a right to her opinion but there is no way she should get a prize for it.

[Aristides]

13 hours ago, Nationalist said:

So let me get this straight. 

A girl sent in a well formed award winning essay about the virtues of being a mother...and your upset.

Huh...

Few people would disagree with the virtues of being a mother.  Certainly not me.

This person seems to think there is no virtue in women doing anything else and how dare they try doing anything as well or better than a man. Oh, and there is the white replacement theory thing.

 

Seems to me this girl has been taught to know her place.

Edited August 10, 2022 by Aristides

[Zeitgeist]

10 minutes ago, Aristides said:

I see no mention that contestants were asked to argue an opinion contrary to what they hold themselves. There is every reason to think she believes what she wrote. She has a right to her opinion but there is no way she should get a prize for it.

So what?  People should be able to say whatever they want.  If it’s persuasive then persuade against it if you disagree.

So it’s all about agreeing with someone’s politics?  

Edited August 10, 2022 by Zeitgeist

[Aristides]

1 minute ago, Zeitgeist said:

So what?  People should be able to say whatever they want.  If it’s persuasive then persuade against it if you disagree.

She is able to say whatever she wants, she just shouldn't be rewarded for it. 

[Zeitgeist]

Just now, Aristides said:

She is able to say whatever she wants, she just shouldn't be rewarded for it. 

I totally disagree.  A powerfully written persuasive piece should be recognized as such if the power of persuasion is what’s being judged. 

[Aristides]

Just now, Zeitgeist said:

I totally disagree.  A powerfully written persuasive piece should be recognized as such if the power of persuasion is what’s being judged. 

Quote

The Her Vision Inspires contest invited women aged 17 to 25 to submit essays in February describing their ideas for the province and what they would do if they were a member of the legislative assembly.

 

 

 

[Zeitgeist]

3 minutes ago, Aristides said:

 

People are entitled to their opinions.  I haven’t read the essay, but supporting traditional family values is good in my books.  Opposing importing immigrant cultures may or may not be a good thing depending on the values being imported.  For example, constitutional civil rights shouldn’t be usurped by Sharia Law if a “respected elder” in the community thinks it’s okay for a husband to beat his wife.  Such a quasi judicial body could undermine Canadian values.

[Aristides]

10 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

People are entitled to their opinions.  I haven’t read the essay, but supporting traditional family values is good in my books.  Opposing importing immigrant cultures may or may not be a good thing depending on the values being imported.  For example, constitutional civil rights shouldn’t be usurped by Sharia Law if a “respected elder” in the community thinks it’s okay for a husband to beat his wife.  Such a quasi judicial body could undermine Canadian values.

People are entitled to their opinions but not to be rewarded for. As far as this girl was concerned, the women sponsoring this contest should have been at home in the kitchen making babies. Seems she would be a big b booster of her own version of Sharia Law. There is a lot of truth to the saying that what the religious right dislikes most about Sharia Law is their inability to impose their own version.

FN know all about being replaced by white people. White people should stop blaming brown people for their own low birth rate.

[Zeitgeist]

26 minutes ago, Aristides said:

People are entitled to their opinions but not to be rewarded for. As far as this girl was concerned, the women sponsoring this contest should have been at home in the kitchen making babies. Seems she would be a big b booster of her own version of Sharia Law. There is a lot of truth to the saying that what the religious right dislikes most about Sharia Law is their inability to impose their own version.

FN know all about being replaced by white people. White people should stop blaming brown people for their own low birth rate.

There you go with the politics of race.  Ever consider that the narrative of racial division is a distraction from a political class that has learned to say a lot of progressive sounding language to preserve their power?  Pitting groups against each other is a way of failing to address opportunity for all.  It’s a way of blaming your own incompetence on the oppressors or patriarchy or colonizers.  The truth is that the colonizers are long gone.  The racist rules are gone.  Indigenous can oppress.  White people can also be victimized.  Focus on individuals. Some people are accepting.  Some people are giving.  Some people are oppressive.  Very few people fit into black and white categories of evil or almost perfect.

If this girl is advocating a traditional female role, perhaps she was looking at the role and gender and sexual orientation confusion of some of her peers.  Maybe she was remembering a simpler time when it wasn’t frowned upon for women to embrace their maternal instincts.  Maybe she was writing about the kind of radical wokism that casts aside traditional values as patriarchal and replaces them with the religion of race and gender.  I don’t know, but I don’t think we should pile on against this girl as the deputy minister and media did.  I guess that deputy minister is such a good person. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Zeitgeist

[Nationalist]

1 hour ago, Aristides said:

Few people would disagree with the virtues of being a mother.  Certainly not me.

This person seems to think there is no virtue in women doing anything else and how dare they try doing anything as well or better than a man. Oh, and there is the white replacement theory thing.

 

Seems to me this girl has been taught to know her place.

or maybe this is her opinion and that's that.

[herbie]

The important part is that the people judging have some qualifications on the subject they're judging.

Of course these were all UCP members, so clueless they didn't realize they were judging fiction. Unless your traditional partner is very wealthy, the only way you can stay home and raise babies in 2022 is by being on welfare.

[Aristides]

3 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

There you go with the politics of race.  Ever consider that the narrative of racial division is a distraction from a political class that has learned to say a lot of progressive sounding language to preserve their power?  Pitting groups against each other is a way of failing to address opportunity for all.  It’s a way of blaming your own incompetence on the oppressors or patriarchy or colonizers.  The truth is that the colonizers are long gone.  The racist rules are gone.  Indigenous can oppress.  White people can also be victimized.  Focus on individuals. Some people are accepting.  Some people are giving.  Some people are oppressive.  Very few people fit into black and white categories of evil or almost perfect.

If this girl is advocating a traditional female role, perhaps she was looking at the role and gender and sexual orientation confusion of some of her peers.  Maybe she was remembering a simpler time when it wasn’t frowned upon for women to embrace their maternal instincts.  Maybe she was writing about the kind of radical wokism that casts aside traditional values as patriarchal and replaces them with the religion of race and gender.  I don’t know, but I don’t think we should pile on against this girl as the deputy minister and media did.  I guess that deputy minister is such a good person. 

Half her essay is about race. I didn't make it about race.

 

Quote

 

 

 

“While it is sadly popular nowadays to think that the world would be better off without humans, or that Albertan children are unnecessary as we can import foreigners to replace ourselves, this is a sickly mentality that amounts to a drive for cultural suicide,” reads the essay, attributed only to S. Silver.

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Aristides

[Aristides]

2 hours ago, Nationalist said:

or maybe this is her opinion and that's that.

That's fine but  it shouldn't have got a prize. That's all I'm saying.

[TreeBeard]

Just now, Aristides said:

That's fine but  it shouldn't have got a prize. That's all I'm saying.

Even the ones handing out the prizes now say they shouldn’t have rewarded those opinions. 
 

“In a follow-up statement later Tuesday, Armstrong-Homeniuk apologized after she said she heard concerns from her caucus and cabinet colleagues.

 

“It’s clear that the process failed, and I apologize for my role in that. The selection of this particular essay and awarding it with third prize was a failure on my part as the head of the judging panel,” she stated.”

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/prize-winning-sexist-racist-essay-should-not-have-been-chosen-alberta-associate-minister

[DogOnPorch]

Maybe she just noticed that the Emperor has no clothes.

Best punish her harder.

[Zeitgeist]

Where is the essay?  All I’m hearing is editorializing around it from the usual “sky is falling” suspects.  

[Nationalist]

5 hours ago, Aristides said:

That's fine but  it shouldn't have got a prize. That's all I'm saying.

In your opinion.

Frankly...I'm sure there were other really good essays too. But I think it's possible that "the right" in parts of Canada...like perhaps Alberta...have decided to fight fire with fire.

[BeaverFever]

On 8/9/2022 at 10:04 PM, Nationalist said:

So let me get this straight. 

A girl sent in a well formed award winning essay about the virtues of being a mother...and your upset.

Huh...

Nope you didn’t get it straight. 

[BeaverFever]

12 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

I totally disagree.  A powerfully written persuasive piece should be recognized as such if the power of persuasion is what’s being judged. 

What about a “powerfully written persuasive piece” arguing  that Bin Laden was right to carry out 9/11 or Hitler was right to carry out the holocaust?  Would you give a prize for that?